HOUSTON — Charges were filed Friday against a former teacher at Eastwood Academy High School in Houston, according to court documents.
The teacher was one of the staff members removed several weeks ago, prompting a walkout and protest by students and parents.
For weeks, the Eastwood Academy community asked Houston Independent School District leaders for answers about why its principal, teachers, and counselors were removed.
Thursday night, for the first time, Superintendent Mike Miles suggested the decision centered on an incident involving a student.
On Friday, charges filed suggested what that incident was.
Christopher Wayne Williams, 41, a history and debate teacher at Eastwood Academy since the 2017-2018 school year, is charged with improper relationship with a student. HISD police said the teacher engaged in a sexual relationship including exchanging "I love you” messages in cellphone texts with the victim.
According to court documents, on Oct. 16, a friend of the victim spoke to an officer with Houston ISD’s police department and said the victim had been intimate with Williams in his classroom.
When the officer interviewed the victim, she initially denied having a relationship with Williams. With her permission, the officer asked to see the victim’s cellphone. After notifying her parents, the victim was willing to discuss her relationship with Williams.
On Oct. 25, the officer spoke to another school employee who said that several students had shared their concerns with her concerning the interactions between the victim and Williams. The employee said she reported her concerns to the school’s principal and another teacher who had expressed similar concerns.
On Oct. 26, the officer interviewed the victim who admitted that she had lied before and that she had been involved with Williams going back to the previous school year.
On Oct. 31, the officer provided the victim’s cellphone to the Digital Forensics Unit at Harris County District Attorney’s Office. They found several text messages of a sexual nature between the victim and Williams.
Friday evening, HISD sent the following statement to KHOU 11:
At a news conference on October 26 in response to questions about changes at Eastwood Academy, the district’s chief communications officer, Leila Walsh, stated: “Student safety and wellbeing is our top priority at HISD. We have an obligation to protect our students in every instance, including in cases where there is an allegation of inappropriate behavior involving adults and children.” Walsh further stated, “The decisions at Eastwood Academy were the result of an investigation into incidents on campus. They are not related to instruction.” HISD was asked if law enforcement was investigating, and that day confirmed for the press that such an investigation was underway.
Charges have been filed. Student safety remains and will always be our top priority. The district recently conducted additional training for staff at Eastwood Academy, so they are aware that under state law, adults are required to report any information about inappropriate activity between adults and students to CPS or law enforcement. HISD will not tolerate any actions that compromise the safety of our students.
Williams has not been taken into custody at this time.